![\"ctrl](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Mac-ctrlaltdel.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\nWho hasn\u2019t encountered an unresponsive application before? If you\u2019ve been using Windows, you probably know what to do when an application decides to stop responding: you press the Ctrl + Alt + Del<\/b> keyboard shortcut, open Task Manager, select the troublemaker, and click End task. Simple, and it works every time. But what can you do on a Mac? Is there something like Ctrl + Alt + Del for Mac users? Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\r\n
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Before we can recommend a suitable alternative to Ctrl + Alt + Del, we should first take a closer look at what the shortcut actually does. When you press this three-key combination on Windows, the screen turns blue and four main options appear:<\/p>\r\n
![\"mac](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/rtm_1.png\")
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A satisfactory alternative to the Ctrl + Alt + Del shortcut should provide all these functions, or, at least, the most essential one: the ability to force-close unresponsive applications. The good news is that macOS offers multiple such alternatives.<\/p>\r\n
Pressing the Command + Option + Escape<\/b> key combination brings up the Force Quit Applications window. Think of the Force Quit Applications window as a simplified Task Manager. Its purpose is to allow users to close unresponsive apps that can\u2019t be closed.<\/p>\r\n While not exactly an ideal Mac Ctrl + Alt + Del alternative, the Command + Option + Escape key combination is still one of several shortcuts that all Mac users should memorize.<\/p>\r\n Apart from pressing the Command + Option + Escape key combination to bring up the Force Quit Applications window, you can also open the same window from the Apple menu. More often than not, unresponsive applications prevent you from interacting with the menu bar at the top of the screen. This is particularly frustrating for people with disabilities as it forces them to press the Command + Option + Escape key combination to bring up the Force Quit Applications window, instead of conveniently opening the same window from the Apple menu.<\/p>\r\n Fortunately, you can also close unresponsive applications from the Dock<\/b> at the bottom of the screen.<\/p>\r\n This keyboard shortcut works the same way as if you were quitting an app through Dock. All you need to do to try out this method is to have the troublesome app opened on your Mac and then simultaneously press Command + Q<\/b> on your keyboard.<\/p>\r\n Didn\u2019t work out for you? Then try out the next option.<\/p>\r\n Activity Monitor<\/b> is a system monitor for the macOS operating system, and it offers similar functionality to Task Manager in Windows. You can open it by going to the Finder and navigating to Applications \u2192 Utilities \u2192 Activity Monitor<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n Activity Monitor displays all running applications sorted by their CPU, memory, energy, disk, or network usage. You can double-click on any application to bring up a separate window with more information about it and the option to close it.<\/p>\r\n Because Activity Monitor is so useful, it makes sense to create a keyboard shortcut to it using something like BetterTouchTool<\/a>, a feature-packed application that allows you to customize various input devices on your Mac.<\/p>\r\n The Control + Shift + Eject<\/b> key combination isn\u2019t like the first four Ctrl + Alt + Del Mac (or Alt + Ctrl + Del Mac) alternatives described in this article, but it allows you to quickly lock your computer so you can safely walk away from it to enjoy a nice cup of hot coffee knowing that nobody won\u2019t be able to use your computer.<\/p>\r\n If you don\u2019t have a keyboard with an Eject key, you can also use the Control + Shift + Power<\/b> combination to accomplish the same.<\/p>\r\n The best Ctrl + Alt + Del Mac remote desktop alternative is the on-screen keyboard. Most remote desktop applications come with an on-screen keyboard that allows for the input of complex keyboard commands. Using the on-screen keyboard over physical one prevents clashes with the host operating system.<\/p>\r\n When nothing of the above methods works, the only option left to try is to restart your Mac.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n You can do this by opening the Apple menu<\/b> (just click the apple icon on the top-left corner of your screen) and choosing Restart<\/b>. If you don\u2019t want the app that froze to open automatically after powering your Mac back on, make sure to deselect the Reopen windows when logging back in option.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n If your whole Mac\u2019s screen is completely frozen, you can force a shutdown. To do it, press and hold the power button on your computer until it shuts down by itself.<\/p>\r\n Every time you use the Ctrl + Alt + Del Mac keyboard shortcut to close an application, you risk losing valuable data. Unfortunately, sometimes you simply have no other choice, so the question becomes how to minimize the damage.<\/p>\r\n First of all, you should always back up your data to minimize the negative consequences of a sudden application crash or hard drive failure. Likewise, you should save often and preferably to the cloud. Many applications have an auto-save feature, and it\u2019s always a good idea to activate it. Don\u2019t worry: it won\u2019t slow down your computer even if it is very old.<\/p>\r\n If you notice that some of your files are missing after force-closing an application, there\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ll be able to recover them if you act quickly and use the right software.<\/p>\r\n Disk Drill<\/a> is a popular data recovery solution for macOS and Windows<\/b>, featuring the ability to recover over 200 file formats from all major storage devices.<\/p>\r\n Disk Drill also comes with a free backup tool, so you can use it to protect your valuable data and minimize the negative consequences of a sudden application crash. In addition to its excellent data backup tool<\/a>, Disk Drill also includes a free disk health monitor, a cleanup utility, duplicate finder, data protection tool, and the option to create a bootable USB<\/a> recovery drive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\t
![\"ctrl](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/force-quit-mac.jpg\")
<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/span>Alternative 2: Apple Menu<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
![\"ctrl](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/force-quit-menu.jpg\")
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<\/span>Alternative 3: Dock<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
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<\/span>Alternative 4: Command + Q<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
<\/span>Alternative 5: Activity Monitor<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
<\/span>Alternative 6: Control + Shift + Eject<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
<\/span>Alternative 7: On-Screen Keyboard<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
![\"ctrl](\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/On-Screen-Keyboard.jpg\")
<\/p>\r\n<\/span>Alternative 8: Restart Your Mac<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
<\/span>What to Do After Using Ctrl + Alt + Del to Close an Application<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
<\/span>How to Recover Accidentally Deleted Files<\/span><\/h2>\r\n
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